Chapter 342 - 294: The Demon Fish’s Harvest (2)

He had watched the whole thing as Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi was chased by the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish. It was a pathetic sight, and he was thankful the guy hadn't been seriously injured. Now, surprisingly, another Frogman wanted to experience that same "breakneck speed." 'This feels so much like those extreme sports athletes from my past life.'

In his past life, he had quite enjoyed watching Red Bull videos. Many of the people who attempted extreme challenges participated in events hosted by Red Bull. Shire had even heard an interesting saying: If an extreme sports enthusiast went to the Red Bull company and said they had a bold idea, they would be immediately thrown out. If they said they had a crazy idea, Red Bull would listen to their proposal and then throw it directly in the trash. Only when they said, "I don't want to live anymore," would Red Bull immediately stand up and say with delight, "My boy, tell us your idea!"

Now, seeing a Frogman who wanted to try "water surfing," Shire couldn't help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch. 'I haven't started some new trend, have I?' ℴℴ𝘮

He didn't have to wait long before a Frogman spotted Shire. At 1.3 meters tall, he stood out like a crane among the one-meter-tall Frogmen. As the Frogmen started crying out, "Gawula, gawula," they began to surround Shire. Through Fulu's "translation," Shire learned it meant "savior."

He was no stranger to the Frogmen's "gawula." Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi had called him that repeatedly while leading him through the Frogman village earlier.

Unlike before, when many of the Frogmen didn't know what had happened and only dared to hide in their black, egg-shaped buildings, peeking out with the two eyes on top of their heads to observe the peculiar-looking Shire.

But now, the Frogmen were no longer afraid. They gathered around Shire, raising their hands and cheering loudly, with Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi being the most enthusiastic of all.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Shire said, waving his hands with a calm smile. In contrast to the excited Frogmen, the Frogman Clan Leader, who was sitting on a stone platform in the distance, had a wide, beaming smile. He stroked his belly, looking very much like a Laughing Buddha in a temple.

It took Shire considerable effort to calm the Frogmen down. "I want to know, is that the only Demon Fish in this pool?"

The Frogmen all answered at once, and their answers were the same. "There's only that one Demon Fish, CROAK."

'That makes sense. If there were another one, they'd definitely fight each other,' Shire thought, nodding. He then continued, "So, is there any way for me to get underwater? I want to go see those strange patterns."

After he said this, the Frogmen began to look at each other. Then, Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi was the first to speak. "Gawula, we can give you the Ability to breathe underwater for a while, but you'll need to Control your own dive time and ascent, CROAK."

"You can?" A flash of surprise crossed Shire's eyes. He had only asked to learn more about the place where the Rune Speech was carved. Goblins couldn't go in the water, so he had figured that diving down to observe it was a job for Pazani.

But now, hearing the Frogman's answer, an idea began to form. Shire turned and glanced around, only to see the Naga Prince lying by the edge of a stone platform not far away, his head bobbing as if he were dozing off again.

'This guy really makes the most of his breaks,' Shire thought with a small laugh. He then parted the Frogmen in front of him, walked over, and, just like Red Eyes would, kicked the Naga Prince awake.

"What is it now?" Pazani grumbled, scrambling to his feet.

"You shouldn't be done with your temporary break time yet. You should be on the clock right now."

"Time... let me see," Pazani muttered, reaching behind him to pull out a piece of animal hide. But Shire waved his hand. "I've been keeping track. You still have twenty minutes of work time."

Pazani glanced at Shire, but his hands didn't stop moving. He pulled out the animal hide he used for record-keeping, looked at it for a few moments, and then said dejectedly, "You're right, there are twenty minutes left. What do you want me to do?"

"Get in the water with me," Shire said, pointing to the calm pool.

"Get in the water? You're a goblin, how can you go in the water? Don't tell me you have a Feathered Serpent's shedding?" Pazani blinked, his voice rising in pitch.

"I can do it without a Snake Shedding," Shire said with a smile, then calmly walked to the water's edge. Pazani muttered something under his breath and swam along behind him.

...

'No one could have guessed what the Frogmen meant when they said they had a way to get me underwater,' Shire thought, his tone filled with novelty as he looked around.

Back on the shore, a few of the Frogmen had stepped forward and surrounded Shire. Just as Shire was wondering what they were going to do, one of the Frogmen suddenly took a huge breath, and its belly rapidly inflated.

Shire couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight. Immediately after, the Frogman opened its mouth and spat out a giant bubble.

Shire watched this scene with great interest. The other Frogmen also began to inhale and spit out giant bubbles in turn. Then, they slowly moved closer to one another, and the bubbles pressed together.

Then, with a soft POP, one bubble merged into the one next to it. After a series of these maneuvers, a giant bubble nearly the height of a person appeared before Shire.

"This thing can let me move underwater?" he asked, sizing up the giant bubble.

"Yes, Gawula. You must be very careful, or the bubble will pop, CROAK." Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi explained from the side, demonstrating the required movements.

Shire then stood perfectly still, watching as the bubble was slowly lowered over his head, inch by inch, until it completely enveloped his upper body.

He then walked slowly toward the pool. The icy water made him shiver, but the thought of the bubble on him made him freeze his movements. Then, step by step, he descended into the pool.

Now, Pazani, who was beside him, manipulated the water currents, pushing Shire very slowly toward the underwater stone wall. Shire, in turn, held up a small piece of a Blue Fluorescent Mushroom he was carrying as an underwater light, carefully examining the wall.

Carved on the stone wall were several rows of huge Runes. They looked very similar to the Rune Speech he had found before, but Shire couldn't be sure if they were patterns he had already mastered. Perhaps only Agatha could truly understand these patterns if she were here.

It was a square pool with a funnel-shaped structure, growing narrower the deeper it went. There were some signs of artificial excavation on the stone walls, likely a necessary step in its construction as a wine cellar.

'It seems to be a combination of four types of Runes. I wonder if it's the specialized Rune Speech: Low Temperature.' Shire gestured for Pazani to push him to the stone wall on the other side.

After confirming the layout of the entire underwater space, Shire began to feel it was getting hard to breathe. 'Looks like the oxygen is running out.'

He gestured for Pazani to push him back to the surface, kicking his own legs harder to try and get there faster.

...

"Outsider, did you find what you were looking for? CROAK." The Frogman Clan Leader asked with a smile, looking at Shire and Pazani, who were warming themselves by a fire.

It was indeed cold underwater, and Shire was only now starting to feel warm again. "Yes, I've learned a little, but the picture is still incomplete."

He thought for a moment, then beckoned to Red Eyes, who was not far away, and instructed him to get something from outside the cave.

Before long, Red Eyes returned with the items Shire had requested.

"Shui Yumo?" Pazani asked, sipping hot water as he watched Shire spread a piece of animal hide in front of him. "What do you want to know now?"

"Nothing much," Shire said as he wrote on the animal hide: "I want to know the instructions for using the combination of Ancient Runes in this pool, specifically the part closest to me."

The ink slithered and combined like little snakes, finally forming a new sentence:

"Under the Frogman Clan Leader's butt."